Chapter - 24 Training

Night had fallen like a soft blanket over the Viridian Forest, and the trio had set up camp under a thick canopy of trees. A small campfire crackled at the center, casting flickering shadows across their faces.

Ash crouched by the fire, stirring a bubbling pot of stew with a focused expression. The savory aroma wafted through the clearing, drawing hungry glances from both human and Pokémon.

Pikachu lounged nearby with Dodo, the Doduo now considerably more relaxed as it tried to sneak bites from a stick of grilled berries. The newly-caught Nidoran pair were curled up together near a tree, still cautious but already warming up to the group. Pidgeot perched high on a branch, keeping a silent vigil with the quiet dignity of a seasoned guardian. Scyther was sharpening his Blade like claws.

Eevee snoozed peacefully in Yellow's lap, her hands absentmindedly stroking its soft fur. She smiled down at it, then glanced toward the pot.

"Smells amazing, Ash."

Misty sniffed the air and let out a soft sigh. "Okay, I'll admit it—this smells way better than anything I've ever made while camping."

Ash shrugged modestly but smirked. "What can I say? Years of survival training… and learning the hard way not to burn beans."

Yellow giggled. "It's true. He's always been the camp chef. During school trips, if Ash wasn't cooking, we were doomed to Leaf's 'experimental sandwiches' or Gary's weird protein bars."

Misty blinked. " Gary ?"

Yellow nodded with a nostalgic smile. "Yep. Those two were always trying to one-up each other. Constant bickering, constant trouble—Professor Oak used to threaten to ban them from the lab every other week."

[Ciel: And yet, the chaos was oddly productive.]

[Raphael: Ash: Master Chef of Pallet Town. Gary: Master Troll of the region.]

Ash looked up with a chuckle. "It wasn't that bad. I mean, sure, we nearly flooded the lab once trying to clean a Muk tank, but—"

"You what?!" Misty nearly choked on her own spit.

Yellow laughed harder. "And then there was the time Gary tried to ride a Rhydon and broke half the fence—Ash got grounded for a week just for encouraging him."

Ash held up his hands innocently. "Hey, I didn't know Rhydon was going to throw him into the Tauros pen!"

Misty shook her head with a grin, but the softness in her eyes lingered. "You've really been through a lot, huh?"

Ash poked the fire with a stick, his voice quieter now. "Yeah. But it was fun. Stupid sometimes, but really fun. especially watching Gary getting scolded."

There was a pause—a comfortable one, filled with the crackle of firewood and the soft sounds of Pokémon resting nearby.

Then a sudden shriek of feathers broke the calm.

Everyone turned to see Spearow, freshly released from its Poké Ball, flaring its wings and glaring up at Pidgeot with defiant eyes.

It let out a shrill cry and took to the air, circling once before dive-bombing at the larger bird.

Pidgeot barely even blinked. With a majestic sweep of its wings, it caught the smaller bird's dive mid-air and shoved it sideways with a burst of wind, sending Spearow tumbling into a nearby bush with a very loud poof. [A/N :- Naruto Sasuke bond ?]

Pikachu winced. "Pikaaa…"

Doduo looked up, then pecked at a berry like nothing had happened.

Ash sighed. "Spearow still has a bit of an ego. Thinks he's top bird."

Yellow giggled. "He's got spirit."

[Ciel: Spirit is not the same as wisdom.]

[Raphael: He'll learn. Or he'll get wind-blasted again.]

Misty smirked. "Well, at least he's ambitious."

Ash served up the stew into bowls and handed them around, taking a seat between the two girls. "Alright, dig in before Pikachu claims it all."

Yellow took a bite and hummed happily. "Still the best stew around."

Misty nodded in agreement. "Okay, okay—you win this one, Ash."

Ash grinned, scooping up a bite."Thanks for your compliment. "

They sat there a little longer, sharing food, laughter, and small stories under the stars.

---

Misty blew gently on her bowl of stew before taking another bite, eyes narrowing in thought. "By the way, Ash… what are you gonna do with all these extra Pokémon you're catching? You've already got one , and now you're adding more like it's a buffet."

Ash glanced over at her with a small shrug. "It's nothing much, really. If I don't end up using them in battles, I'll give some to people I like. Y'know, someone who'll treat them well." He paused, stirring his food. "And the rest… I'll use them to learn. Breeding, care, different evolution patterns, stuff like that."

[Raphael: Just say for your harem and children what is with the hesitation hehe ]

Yellow perked up, clearly interested. "Oh! You mean like studying Pokémon behavior? That's actually really smart."

Misty blinked. "Huh. That's… kind of thoughtful. Not gonna lie, I expected 'because I felt like it' or 'they looked cool.'"

Ash grinned. "Well, that too. But there's more to being a great trainer than just battling. If I'm gonna be the best, I need to understand every angle—even the boring ones."

Yellow nodded slowly. "It makes sense. Especially since breeding and raising Pokémon properly can make a huge difference. And, uh… some people make a lot of money from it."

Ash leaned back against a log, folding his arms behind his head. "Exactly. Besides, raising Pokémon from the ground up teaches patience. And if there's one thing I've learned…" He glanced pointedly at Spearow, who was currently tangled in a bush trying to reclaim his pride. "Some Pokémon really need it."

Misty chuckled. "You planning on starting a daycare center or something?"

Ash smirked. "Why not? 'Ash's School of Hard Knocks and Hug Therapy.' First lesson: don't divebomb Pidgeot."

Everyone laughed, even Doduo, who let out a amused coo.

[Ciel: He's either building a harem, a daycare, or a chaos army.]

[Raphael: Statistically, it's probably all three.]

Yellow spooned another bite of stew and looked thoughtful. "Well… if you ever need help with the breeding stuff, I've done a bit of that back home. I can lend a hand."

[ A/N:- Bruh no way bruh what kind of breeding? 🫣💀]

Ash gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Yellow. I'll take you up on that."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so are you gonna start giving out Pokémon like gifts? What, are you gonna hand one over with flowers and a love letter?"

Ash pretended to consider it. "Depends. Would that work on you?"

Misty choked on her stew. "W-what?!"

Yellow burst out laughing, nearly dropping her bowl.

[Ciel: Critical hit. Super effective.]

[Raphael: +10 affection ]

Ash smirked, clearly proud of himself. "What? I thought girls liked cute gifts."

Misty scowled, cheeks pink. "Try that again and I'll give you a gift—called a Water Gun to the face." [A/N :- water gun to the face 😈 is it what I think it is 🌚]

Yellow wiped a tear from her eye, still giggling. "Ash… you haven't changed one bit."

Ash leaned back with a mock sigh. "Guess I'm just naturally charming."

Pikachu: "Pika pika…" Translation: "More like naturally annoying."

"By the way Yellow I was not joking about giving away Pokemon you see. Do you need a nidoran(f) ? I will give you one what do you think?"

This time Yellow blushed because she clearly remembered what Ash said before giving Pokemons to someone he likes !

'So does that mean he likes me ? Is this a confession? Wel— well if it's Ash I don't think I would mind should I say yes or no '

She shyly looked at Ash's handsome face, good athletic body. And nodded to herself.

"Okay If you want you can give me one "

"Then I will give one to you. By the way Yellow have you decided to travel or are you gonna help your uncle healing Pokemon?"

Ash asked curiously.

"Huh ? Uh not really. I have not given much thought about traveling though I think it would be good to travel with you two "

Misty says sincerely," So do you wanna come with us? you can decide your dream while travelling it will give you more options."

"Hm Okay I will talk to Uncle tomorrow if he agrees then I will go with you ." Yellow said after thinking for a while how everyone has started chasing their dreams while she hasn't even decided one yet.

Ash felt it she was sad he got up and gently patted her head saying," Don't worry everyone has something they want to achieve it's just you haven't found what you want yet. You don't need to make a choice in a hurry."

Yellow feeling touched nods but then suddenly realised Ash was patting her head she became embarrassed but didn't move his hands away.

Then they ate their dinner went to sleep in their tents.

Ash was training his Pokemons in the training room in his dimension . Every one wore macho brace for their training. Some of them trained in physical strength, some speed and agility, attack power , their moves mastery.

Ash focused more on Pikachu to learn iron tail it will be a good effective move for brocks gym . Pigdeot already knows steel wing he was also working on perfecting it against a training dummy. Agains and again .

The Scythers were fighting against eachother as for the female nidorans hmm well they are busy chasing after Ash's Male nidoran.

After training they went to sleep.

Ash came out of his dimension with Pikachu and Eevee returned to his tent .

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[A/N :- Well that was another chapter but You are not giving enough Power stones 😤 We have to cross 100 power stones this week too so give me more ]

By the way For the Nidorans should Ash have both male and female or should he give all the female ones to others ?